Love
by aroseofmanyleaves
Summary: Karen goes to Rob, not for a drink, but for something else that is far more important. She wants to know that there has been forgiveness, because, what can thrive with no understanding?
1. Tea

He bought her a badge. A simple, sweet gesture that had actually made her day a hell of a lot better than it would've been without it. It said 'World's Best Granny' on it and although she had laughed appreciatively to begin with, she really did rather love it. Knowing that he thought she would be a good grandmother was reassuring to say the least. Knowing that everything was as perfect as it would get between them again just made her want to jump up and down and squeal in happiness. She had missed his teasing, his gentle and frequent flirts, the way he could make her giggle and blush like a little girl. She hadn't realized how dim her life had become without him over the past few weeks; she had just been seeping deeper and deeper in misery and depression.

Her first throught when he pulled out that little black box was _I do_. She then pounded back down to Earth with a loud bang and realized that he was not going to propose, and felt a little silly, although he had no idea that she had even considered this notion. Her heart had lept ecstatically when she had carefully placed the badge in her pocket and their eyes had latched onto one another. Slowly, and all too consciously, she had begun to tilt forward and he had mirrored her actions, leaning towards her. Her eyes had started to flicker shut and his were about to do the same when Chris had walked in. Damn it, she could've kicked herself at that moment; screw that, she could've kicked Chris. There had been an unfallable awkwardness in the corridor after that moment, the atmosphere so tense that it could probably be snipped into a million pieces with a pair of scissors and there would still be enough left for someone to sit in the corner and do 'awkward turtle.' But they had continued on with their day, avoiding each other only out of principle before he had entered her office only an hour later. She couldn't really recall what had been said in their conversation, but all she could remember was that sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach when he had left without kissing her. They had been alone, it could've been a perfect kiss for the moment, but it was then that she noticed what he both wanted and needed her to do. He had initiated it last time, that fantastic kiss outside of the restaurant when he had first locked lips with her, first ran his fingers through her hair, first had the chance to hold her the way he had so desperately wanted to for weeks, and so now it was her turn – kind of. He wanted her to realize that, with love, you have to take any opportunities by the skin of your teeth. So he silently challenged her, and she accepted.

Karen spent the rest of the dat in her office, walking aimlessly backwards and forwards, running through lines and things she could and would say to him. She jotted down a few things, mumbling and murmuring about whether that could work as an innuendo. She tried to guess what his responses would be, and she did hope that he would be slightly surprised at her actions. But then Richard Whitman had happened. One day, probably sometime soon in the near future, she was going to bitch slap that jerk. How _dare_ he intimidate and charm one of her staff into passing on information to him? He would have his come-uppance one day though, and that was the one thing that kept her calm as she stood in his huge chamber, his form towering over her.

'You know Richard,' she began vehemently, a smirk gracing her lips, 'Up close you're really quite pathetic.' She would've paid to have seen his reaction to that but instead, she turned on her heel, swung around, stormed over to the door, pulled it open and then slammed it shut, the loud _bang_ ricocheting off the walls and high ceiling. When she reached outside, she took several deep and steady breaths and just stood for a few moments. She was disbelieving of the information she had just been shot with. Did he really hate her that much that he would try any cheap, black-market stunt to get her eliminated? The sheer cheek was inexcusable in itself but when he had said he would make sure she never worked as a headmistress again, it had taken all her will-power not to reach out and smack him into next month. Her anger was becoming more and more evident with every passing second, and bitterness was raging through her head. But she took another few breaths and remembered Rob's worthy words of _Just let go of your anger Karen. Don't let it get to you_. They encircled her and her eyes glazed over in impending thought, glassy and reflective, ignoring all the other happenings on this tiny little planet. She decided, suddenly, that the best thing to do now would be to go and carry out Operation Second Kiss. It was a subtle name, she thought sarcastically, and now was the absolute perfect time to perform it. She had been waiting however many weeks to get the chance for this event.

She had been so sure that all their chances to be together had been scuppered when his bitch of a wife came back, but he saw sense in the end, kicked Naomi out and tried all he could to get Karen back. When he had attempted to hold her hand, once alone in the outer building in the school, she had cruelly wrenched it away and broken both of their hearts. But he needed to understand that she needed time to heal, time to reconsider, time to figure and puzzle out her extraordinarily sensitive and confusing emotions. And a week later, when everything had died down, and he had almost begged for her forgiveness, she had freely given it to him. He had responded typical Rob style, the whole attractively breathing into her ear kind of thing. And as useless as it sounded, it normally turned her legs to jelly.

She pounded a fist against her radio as the station crackled from loss of signal and began to fuzz and buzz annoyingly. And then (it had to be now didn't it?) the petrol light started to flash uncontrollably. Groaning in angst, _someone obviously didn't want this to happen_, she pulled over to the side of the road, climbed out of her car and slammed the door shut. She leant against the door and sighed out, staring up at the darkening sky, trying not to break down. After a few minutes, she decided to carry on, prevailing in strength, and left the car by the side of the road with the intention of coming back and getting it tomorrow. She knew the way to his house, and followed various signs to his street. _It had to be tonight, it had to be tonight,_ she told herself, gradually growing in confidence. It would be okay, he wouldn't let her down.

**X – X – X**

'Karen…' he breathed out in shock. There she stood, wrapped in her slimming black coat, standing calmly and normally on his porch, like it was the most average thing in the world. There was something in her smile tonight, something suggestive, something new. Her eyes twinkled flirtily at him and she altered her position so that she was leaning ever so slightly on his doorframe, in a 'damsel in distress' manner. She knew how to play, he was sure of that already.

'Sorry to turn up unannounced,' she said coolly, knowing full well that he didn't care, he was so grateful for the fact that she was here. She didn't sound remorseful or regretful, but she had no need to be. Her smile increased in size, and her pink rose lips shone in the light outside his house.

'No worries,' he sighed out quickly, not wanting to give her the impression she was not wanted when she really was – rather a lot.

'Are you busy?' she enquired innocently. He was home alone, she knew that seeing as Aiden was being a bit self destructive at the moment, and he was sure to let her in.

'No, no. Come through,' he stuttered, in awe of her radiance. He was surprised that she had actually turned up at his door in the middle of the night and acted _this _way. She was confident and striking and utterly stunning, he could never resist this woman in a million years. Stepping into his cozy little home, nervousness beginning to grow inside of her, she strolled in behind him, admiring his body subconciously, and asked, 'It's not too late is it?'

'No!' he hastened to say, ignoring the intensifying darkness of the sky outside, reminding him that it was well past eleven, 'Erm, let me take your coat,' he suggested chivalrously, watching intently as she gracefully slipped out of her coat, smiling at him in a seductive way. 'Bad day?' he asked comfortingly. She strolled around his living room, not inspecting the place, but just looking. It was a lovely little place, and she wondered just how much of it she would explore this evening. She hoped quite a lot. She turned to him, a grin across her lips. She spoke the truth, although there was probably a small element of sarcasm etched into her words, and she replied, surprising herself, 'No, it was good actually.'

He was now no longer sure if he was dreaming or not. Surely Karen, the ballsy and fiery headmistress, would've been affected by the goings on in her school; upset and betrayed, but she was okay with it?

'Oh, I just thought with Eleanor…' he mumbled, setting her coat aside, a question embedded in his statement. She caught a seconds worth of eye contact with him and edged towards him by a few inches or so, 'I just listened to what you said and…let go of my anger.' She smiled flippantly at him and laughed at his reaction.

'What, you listen to me occasionally?' he asked teasingly before she could continue. She closed her mouth, cutting off the words she was about to utter, and stared at him. The smile upon her face was totally delicious and he had a feeling it wouldn't be too long until he was trailing his lips across it.

'You have your moments,' she suggested bluntly. He almost laughed at this, and the tone of amusement spreading across her face caused a grin to overpower the muscles in his face. She strolled three steps closer to him. She looked so beautiful right now, angelic. The light on her skin made her look like she was glowing; radiant, perfect, a goddess sent down to Earth to seduce him.

'Erm drink?' he asked awkwardly. He knew that her response would change everything. He knew this was the moment when they just forgot their history, all the lies and crap, all the heartbreak and just started anew once more.

'I'm not thirsty,' she said boldly and extremley bluntly. He smiled at her, in an I-know-what's-going-to-happen-so-just-do-it kind of manner. She closed the gap between them and her expression lightened and she beamed gorgeously. 'Actually,' she begins nervously. She gives herself one more push, one more final bounce of confidence and she finally says, 'I didn't come here for a drink.' She takes one more step and with his consent, shining in his eyes, she thrusts herself upon him and presses her lips against his. It is perfect, sweet and intense, all past bitterness forgotten. She places on hand on his cheek, sliding it gracefully up and down his jawbone, the other dancing through his hair. He gives her a few seconds to control and then responds, just when she is about to give up. He clutches at her passionately and gently, slinking an arm around her waist. His fingers run through her hair, the golden strands being threaded through them, like it was made of silk, soft and rich and fine to touch. She recognizes his willingness and seizes control once more, changing direction of her lips so she can get even closer to him. Their bodies entwine together, loosely pressing against one another and when he notices this, he removes his hands from her waist and clutches her cheeks, intensifying it even further. His tongue slides into her mouth, prising her lips open, and runs around, crashing wildly against hers. She wants it to last forever; the euphoria she feels, she wants to forever. She likes him so much right now she can barely believe it.

Gradually, they begin to move towards the sofa. Still locked by the lips, they sit down and continue, their lips twisting and turning, his hands running up and down her slender form. Very, very slowly, she begins to lie down on the sofa, her form burying itself slightly in the material. She pulls him with her, pulling him down by the collar, and she feels so secure and protected as he wraps his hands around her waist and deepens the kiss, meshing his face against hers even more tightly. He lies down next to her and smiles the widest he has ever smiled when she breaks away from him.

'I love you so much, you incredible, incredible woman,' he murmured in her ear before kissing her intensly once more. But she is more hesitant this time and, sitting up and dragging her cautiously with him, he slowly detaches their lips,

'Karen, what's wrong?' he asks her gingerly, staring at her expression, trying to detect what the issue is. But her face is passive, utterly blank, and he presses her for an answer before she quietly whispers, 'You…love me?'

'Is that a problem?'

'No, I just…just, wasn't expecting it,' she stammered, trying to cover up her mistake. He holds her hand encouragingly, and smiles broadly at her, 'What were you expecting? Tea and biscuits with the caretaker?'

'Oh shut up,' she says lightly, punching him gently on the shoulder, smirking again. They sit in silence for several minutes before she stammers out, 'Y-you know Rob…'

'Yes?' he asks encouragingly, finding her cobalt eyes again. She shushes him, begging him not to interrupt. What she is about to say next, she never thought she would ever say to any man ever again after what Charlie did, 'I love you too.'

**X – X – X**

Karen wakes up early the next morning in a rather unfamiliar setting. She flickers her eyes open slowly, feeling all too tired and stares around at the room she is in. The curtains are drawn shut, blocking out the yellowish tinge of the sun rising and shining through the window, and the walls are painted a luxurious purple colour. The décor is simple enough, a wardrobe, a chest of drawers and a small bookshelf which upon it are several classics, including Pride and Prejudice and A Christmas Carol. She is lying down, her head sinking into a soft pillow. The bed is large, a double, and although she is alone, there is a form imprinted in the mattress next to her. Everything that happened last night is kind of a blur, and she will remember much of it later when she is more awake. Her hair is messy and hanging in front of her eyes and she brushes it away. She wipes her eyes as she yawns and when she brings her hands in front of her face, she sees her dark fleshy eyeshadow over her hands. Her ear are slightly blocked and she sees the time to be six in the morning; she's having another half an hour, then she'll get up and remember where she is, because it's certainly not her house. As she begins to drift off again, a voice yells from downstairs,

'Do you want tea or coffee Karen? I'll get you some biscuits as well to go with it, eh? Tea and biscuits with the caretaker?'

She suddenly realizes exactly where she is, and she remembers exactly what happened last night. Thank God that Jess taught her what 'awkward turtle' is, because she's certainly going to need to use it later on today…


	2. Coffee

'Oh God,' she breathed out, sitting up in the comfortable double bed. She leant up against the backboard, and rubbed her eyes once again, wiping away the sleepy dust that was caught within her long black eyelashes. She looked towards the open door of the room and peered out in the corridor. No one approached, and she did not hear him calling out to her again, and after a few moments she snapped to attention. What had happened last night? She remembered, briefly, her car breaking down and walking to his house. They had talked and chatted amiably, and then he had offered her a drink which she remembered refusing. And then, oh, she could recall…kissing him. She had kissed him, that's when and where the whole incident had started off from. And the funny thing was, although she felt a tad awkward about what to precisely do next, she did not regret a single second of it whatsoever. This all felt so incredibly right. Tucked up in his bed, her glistening hair sprawled all in front of her face, having spent the night with him, and being called down to breakfast in the morning. This was the kind of life she had always wanted. And he loved her, wow, he actually loved her. It wasn't a fling, or just random flirting, he really did love her. When he had told her she had been rather surprised. She hadn't heard those words for over fifteen years; Charlie wasn't really the most affectionate man she had ever met. It would be naïve of her to say she hadn't loved Charlie because she had, but she had never felt that loved herself. And now, she had Rob, and she found it so easy to conquer to his thoughtful words. She meant them as well; how more perfect could this possibly get? She was in a state of sheer ecstacy and love, caught up in a typical clichéd whirlwind romance, and now it was at the end of their story, where they all lived happily ever after.

Climbing out of the bed, Karen quickly scanned the ground, looking for her black dress which had been thrown aside so carelessly last night. Panicking when she could not find it anywhere, she frantically searched under the bed and around the room, checking behind the curtains, under and in the wardrobe, underneath the bed and outside on the landing. Groaning in frustration, she spied Rob's maroon t-shirt and quickly pulled it on over head, on top of her underwear. It was quite baggy and quite long on her, but it smelt oddly like him; kind of musty, but comforting and warm at the same time. Breathing out happily, she walked towards the door of the bedroom, took one last look at the messy bed and smiled.

She hurried down the stairs, running excitedly like a small child on Christmas morning, and found him, in pajama bottoms, standing in the kitchen, beginning to make some sort of breakfast. He heard her gentle footsteps coming in, turned to face her and smiled broadly. He beamed delightedly at her ravishing appearance and said, 'Morning Mrs Fisher, tea or coffee?'

She yawned widely, masking it behind her palm and replied casually with, 'Coffee please. I need something with caffeine in it to wake me up,' she explained, swanning over to him and leaning on the worktop, staring up at him. Her eyes were ringed with grey from her mascara, and she sounded exhausted, her breathing slightly out of rhythm, but she looked perfectly happy, and simply breathtaking.

'Nice shirt,' he murmured, even though it was far too early in the morning for flirting and teasing, even for him, Rob Scotcher. He winked crudely at her and her apparel, and started spreading margarine over three slices of toast. He went over to another cupboard and retrieved two mugs, whilst Karen sensibly switched the kettle to boil. She giggled when he came up behind her and grabbed her waist, tickling her gently. He sweeped her hair to the side and whispered into her ear, 'Last nice was great.' She smiled embarrassedly, remembering of how she had literally thrust herself upon him, 'It was,' she replied simply, not needing to say anymore to express her emotions and feelings about last night. He held her in his arms for a few more beautiful seconds, and kissed her sweetly on the temple, and then hurried on to make the coffee. He chucked her a piece of toast which she generously bit into and murmured her thanks through mouthfuls. After a few minutes of quiet, Rob clumsily handed Karen a boiling mug of coffee, which she rather quickly set down on the kitchen unit when it scalded her hand.

'So, we've got the inspection today,' Rob said worridly, walking over to Karen and leading her to the small table in the corner of the kitchen. She grimaced at him, fondling with his hand and twisting her fingers gently within his, 'We should be fine. There's nothing wrong that the inspector will pick up on, it's just Richard Whitman that I cannot deal with,' she muttered out, releasing his hand from her grip and putting her head into her hand sparingly. Rob leaned out his arm and rubbed her shoulders soothingly and gave her a small squeeze. He pulled his chair over so he was sat right next to her and gripped her hand tighter than ever, 'If he does anything to hurt you then I swear I'll kill him,' he muttered furiously, a look of anger on his handsome features, such passion in his statement that for a moment, however brief, Karen actually feared for Richard Whitman's life. Passing it off as a joke, she smirked, laughed a little, which caused his lips to rise upwards once more, and leaned in towards him. He scootched even closer to herand they locked lips together, a little reminiscent of earlier that morning, say around one or two o'clock. The front door creaked open quietly, but neither heard as they continued the kiss, smiling through it all the while. Someone's footsteps were tapping almost silently on the carpet and the steps became even louder when they collided with the tiled kitchen.

'Dad! I'm…home?' Aiden yelled, trailing off at the end, trying to prevent himself from shouting out in shock and swearing in disgust. Rob quickly flung his eyes open and stood up, Karen dong the same once she realized exactly what was happening. Aiden was stood in the doorway of the kitchen, an expression of the utmost horror upon his face; shock and disgust were roaming on his features.

Rob cleared his throat awkwardly, breaking the stiff and awful silence, 'Where were you last night? And what on earth were you doing?' His son reeked slightly of alcohol and his eyes were droopy, his face reddened.

Aiden was still staring in shock, however, but he pulled himself together and replied quickly with, 'You're asking me what _I_ did last night?' The incredulity in his voice was obvious and he stared at the couple, standing protectively together; his dad and the _headmistress_. I mean, he knew they fancied each other a bit, but still, ew.

'Well erm, Mrs Fisher came round to…'

'I think we've gone past formalities of calling her Mrs Fisher!' Aiden cried out, interrupting Rob's hastened and untelligible excuse. Karen blushed ferociously and hid even further behind Rob, remembering exactly what she was wearing.

'Go and get ready for school, we'll talk about this later,' Rob said reasonably and in a hushed tone, pointing seriously and warningly. Aiden smirked and swung around to go and obey his father's wishes, but before he could start to uneasily clamber ascend up the stairs, Karen piped up, in her usual firm voice, 'Aiden, we would quite appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone at school about this. We have the inspection today, and now would not be a great time for everyone to find out.'

Aiden turned back around, stared his headmistress up and down really strangely, and cheekily replied with, 'You got it Karen.'

She frowned slightly at him and pulled the hem of Rob's shirt down as he climbed up the stairs, looking altogether too smug.

'Sorry about him,' Rob said, grimacing.

'It's okay. He has a right to be surprised, I still am,' she added, grinning at him truthfully, holding Rob closer to her, wrapping her hands around him. Rob nodded his head in agreement and quickly checked his watch, 'Well, it's almost seven, should we think about getting ready?' he asked conversationally. As sensational as spending time with her was, he didn't want her to lose her job being late. Karen agreed wholeheartedly (she needed to get in earlier than usual to prepare for the inspection) but then a memory invaded her mind, 'I don't know where my dress is. I couldn't find it,' she mumbled so quietly that he almost didn't hear her. But when he did, he started laughing, quite uncontrollably. She glared at him as he wiped stray tears of mirth from his eyes and stared down at her, two inches taller than her petite height.

'Honestly Karen. What am I going to do with you?'

'Find my dress hopefully!' she exclaimed intently, worry rising in her tone. He rolled his eyes at her, took her hand and led her up the stairs once more, just like last night. Although this time, it involved a lot less, well, you know…

After twenty minutes of hopeless and desperate searching, there was still no clue as to the whereabouts of Karen's black dress. They had come to the decision that maybe it was still downstairs somewhere, or maybe it was outside, having been chucked out of a window, but they didn't have enough time to conduct another search.

'What am I going to do?' Karen asked seriously, one hand on her hip, looking altogether too attractive for him to even consider replying at that precise second. She searched him for an answer, but he grinned at her from the other side of the bed and murmured, 'You could just wear my t-shirt. I wouldn't mind,' He went to wink at her, but upon seeing the severely unamused expression on her face, he just managed to restrain himself, 'We could stop off at yours on the way to school?' he suggested weakly, slightly scared at her tone of annoyance.

'Yeah that would be a good idea,' she pondered. Suddenly, and to his shock, she shouted, 'I need to get my car as well! I left it by the side of the road!'

He tutted loudly at her, 'Not too on the ball this morning are we Karen?'

'Not now Robert,' she snapped. He looked hurt, and so, in an attempt to apologize, she threw one of the pillows, that they had lain on together last night, in his face and said, 'I love you.'

**X – X – X**

They rolled up to school, in Rob's old Vauxhall, at approximately twenty to eight. Karen was dressed now in a far more fetching outfit than Rob's shirt, and he was vaguely disappointed: he thought she had looked very sexy in it. She was now, however, wearing a deep purple long sleeves t-shirt and the usual shin length grey skirt. She had reapplied her makeup in the car with the remnants in the bottom of her bag and she managed to do her hair so it looked less like _I-slept-with-my-handsome-caretaker-last-night_, and more _I-stayed-up-all-night-worrying-about-this-inspection_. Rob was wearing the norm: a t-shirt and jeans. He looked, Karen mused, as they both clambered out of the car and began walking towards the school. They chatted generally until they reached the front doors, which Rob unlocked, pulling a large key from the pocket of his jacket and undoing the large chains. Entering the school, hand in hand with Rob, Karen stared up at the sign on the school gates. It read 'Waterloo Road Comprehensive. Headmistress: Karen Fisher.' She wondered for just how much longer that sign would remain there without being completely modified. The moment she caught sight of the school, _her _school, a sense of sadness and misery collided into her, like a brick against her head. She would really miss this place, she thought complacently. No, _snap out of it_, she told herself sternly, this was all going to be okay. She was comforted when Rob wrapped his arms around her shoulders and kissed her on the forehead, 'It's going to be okay Karen. You're bloody brilliant at your job, and I'll be here with you.'

They headed to her office, where she quickly pulled several files from her desk and began scanning and then carefully reading through them. Rob stood, leaning against the pale violet wall and just watched her. The way her short strands of wavy honeysuckle hair fell into her eyes as she worked, the way her breathing was slower and lighter when she read, the way her fingers trailed across the pages so delicately. With every movement, he fell even further and further and further in love with her.

'Are you just going to stand there and watch me?' she suddenly asked, her ever-calm voice making him jump. He smiled that simple sweet smile and replied, complimenting her insanely, 'Pretty much, you're gorgeous.' He did not stare to see her reaction, but diverted his gaze, knowing that her face would be redder than a clown's nose and her smile would be wider than the width of Jupiter. He left it a few minutes before he turned his gaze back to her, where she had returned to her work. When he was sure that she was absolutely and totally absorbed in her work, not even him proposing would drag her away right now, so much so it was like she was in a trance, he really quietly crawled over to her chair and, for a bit of a laugh, he gently grabbed her shoulders. And her response made him almost collapse and cry with laughter. She screamed a horrified, freaky, utterly terrified scream that was so loud and horrendous that she almost burst both his eardrums. When she realized that it was in fact Rob who had just done that to her, she turned around to face him and glared horribly, 'What did you do that for?' she growled sternly, supressing the part of her that so blatantly wanted to laugh to the back of her head. She found the corners of her lips rising steadily as she watched him laugh, but she bit the insides of her cheeks to stop herself.

'I'm sorry Karen, but I just couldn't resist,' he choked out through little giggles and tears of laughter. She was intending to reprimand him for interrupting her very important work, but after several minutes of watching him basically roll around in hysterical laughter, she gave up and swivelled around again, ignoring him like a little girl would to someone who had just pulled on her pigtails. A couple of strangely quiet, apart from the odd chuckle from Rob, minutes passed, and Karen was attempting to continue with her work when Rob suddenly pressed his lips to her temple and murmured, 'I'm sorry I scared you.' She stood from her chair and winked at him before replying sternly, but jokingly with, 'Well, I might just have to put you in detention Mister Scotcher. Apologies just don't cut it.' She was now standing right up close to him. The time was ten past eight, all the staff were arriving in dribs and drabs, but Karen leant in towards him again and he quickly whispered, 'Well maybe this will make up for it,' before he clutched her waist and kissed her. They liked smiling through kisses, just because everything was so good when they were entwined together, it felt like everything was going right, like everything would be okay forever. Unfortunately for them, however, they were interrupted from their very important and lovely kissing by a soon to be very excited Janeece,

'Morning Mrs Fisher!' Janeece trilled loudly and positively, bursting open the door of Karen's office and poking her head through. Again, their reactions considerably slower than they used to be, Rob and Karen left it a second to late to break apart. Begrudgingly, he removed his hand from her cheek and they both stared in anxiety at Janeece, who seemed very, very happy all of a sudden (little did they know that the whole school's staff were running bets on when the two would finally admit to each other they liked each other and "get it on" as Janeece had bluntly put it)

'I'll just leave you two to it. See ya later Mister Scotcher,' Janeece said, her voice oozing with humour. Karen attempted to stutter out some sort of reply but before she could manage it, Janeece disappeared, a huge grin plasteredneatly across her face.

'Oh, she's going to go and tell everyone,' Karen breathed out heavily, turning to Rob again and lying her head against his chest and hugged him, in search of some comfort. She was just far too tired, far too in love, and far too busy to deal with this just now.

**X – X – X**

Ten minutes later, Karen and Rob walked into the staff room, intending everyone to be there so Karen could give them a bit of a 'pep-talk' before the inspection. As they walked in, Eleanor Chaudry bumped paths with the two. She avoided eye contact with Karen and humbly carried on, feeling far too ashamed to look at her. Expecting some sort of telling off, she tried to hurry off, but Karen smiled reassuringly and patted her gently on the shoulder. Eleanor smiled at this gesture of forgiveness and carried on walking. Karen strolled into the main part of the teachers lounge and before she could even begin with 'Good morning' the chatters and gossips of the staff was interrupted by a very shrill, obvious wolf-whistle. Karen had failed to notice that she and Rob were still holding hands at this point she looked half angrily, half embarrassedly towards Janeece in the corner who was currently rifling her way through around forty quids worth of five pound notes. She smiled knowingly at the pair. Karen did not drop Rob's hand, and clutched it even tighter, leaning her head in the crook of his neck when she saw the inspector in her office. This was going to be a very long day…


	3. Tequila Shots

He stood in the shadows of the dark, previously smokey smelling room, twirling thoughts around in his head. His left hand, which was quivering ever so slightly from a mix of fear and sheer excitement was gently clutching onto the letter that he had received this morning. She had given it to him, a reason for him to leave her and never look back, but he wasn't going to do so. We all have our secrets, but one day the truth has to come out, and so he's making sure that she hears it from him first. He could never leave her, not now. A few weeks ago, he had told her that he _was in a very big danger of falling in love with her_. And now he had fallen for her, irreversibly and beautifully in love with her. She was so fantastic, and yet so different to anyone or anything he had ever encountered before. She had integrity, and intelligence, and she was sometimes so severely kind that people had the nerve to try and take advantage of her, which never ever worked anyway. But she was brutally honest about anything and everything except her emotions. She shied away from any kind of romantic involvement or relationship, in fear that she might get hurt. Last night had changed all of that, most likely forever. She wasn't afraid of being vulnerable with someone anymore.

He was shaken from his enthralling trails of thought when the woman in his current consideration waltzed concernedly into the room and picked up her black coat, that black coat that she had been sporting so deliciously last night, from a randomly placed chair. Her hair, those gorgeous strands of velvetine honeysuckle, shone even in the dimly lit room and when he caught a glimpse of her sharp eyes, a part of him metaphorically melted within. They were like azure diamonds, twinkling and glimmering like a disco ball at prom night. Her lips are twisted into a thin line of mediocre expression and he suddenly had the maddening urge to kiss him, just like she had done to him last night, the one action that had initiated…everything. It was like he was under a spell, some kind of enchantment, and everytime he looked at her, he fell in love all over again.

She glanced fleetingly towards the staff all crowded around the stage, singing Hi Ho Silver Lining, and a little part of her died. If she lost her job, there was still the danger of her losing her job even though the school had been barely salvaged, if she couldn't spend everyday with these crazy but lovely people, it would probably kill her. This was her life, this school and all the kids, and if she wasn't allowed to be headmistress anymore then everything in her world and life would collapse. She breathed out heavily, and he watched her as her eyelids fluttered, sniffing back a few stray tears from the corners of her eyes, and began to walk towards the front door exit of the pub.

'You leaving already?' Rob asked suddenly, pulling himself together and finding the courage to pipe up and talk to her. She swivelled around in shock and smiled at him, her lips ripping into a broad grin, 'I mean this is just the warm up, it get's worse,' he added, referring obviously to Janeece's _vaguely_ out of tune rendition. She sniggered and she suddenly felt comforted and happy when he strolled near to her, still twiddling the red snooker ball around in his fingers. He shot her an enquiring look and she desperately tried to think of an excuse which she would be able to escape from this place with. When no reason came to her avail, she truthfully replied with,

'I thought I'd just leave whilst everyone's having a good time.'

'Yeah, because we passed the inspection…' he explained slowly, evidently believing that she had forgotten all the horrific events of earlier today. He then realized that that wouldn't be the case, it's entirely impossible for her, she had basically lost her job and her school, it's the kind of thing you don't forget lightly. She smiled sadly and took a few steps towards him, meeting him in the middle of the room, 'And no one's happier about that than me…' she said, not trailing off, but leaving the end of her statement hooked. She really could not be happier, but everything would and could go wrong with a seemingly unimportant decision made by some random panel of governers and representatives.

'But…?' he asked, pressing her for more information. He knew there was a more suitable reason for her leaving. She was upset about something, and now, as designated "boyfriend", it was his job to find out what. Her smile disappeared a bit and she tried not to let all her fear invade her voice, 'It just makes the possibility of not being part of it that much harder.'

Suicide had crossed her mind twice that day. She had never experienced a situation so bad that it had actually been considered as a viable option, but today had really destroyed a part of her belief system that she never expected to lose. She felt weak thinking like this, it felt wrong and ridiculous, but it was the first time she hadn't been able to find something to live for. Even he had deserted her. She had said some stupid stuff, and he hadn't got angry as such, just frustrated that she wouldn't even try to listen to him. In all honesty, she had never been more frightened than she had been, walking down empty and abandoned corridors, a box of her desk stuff in her arms, strolling towards the front door of her school. Her school. But for how much longer, she had thought, the tears hardly restrained. And then, once she had passed his office, she had completely lost it. She had promised herself she wouldn't cry. But then again, Charlie had promised to love her forever, to never cheat. No one sticks to their promises anymore; they're just meaningless, made up words that are said at the moment to reassure. And although she had tried so hard to keep them at bay, the tears had come, gentle and slight, slowly and silently trawling down her cheeks, smudging her make up. At one point, she had dropped the flimsy box, and it had fallen, almost in slow motion, to her feet, everything flying out and crashing against the floor, and she fell down to the ground, wrapped herself into a little ball and sobbed. Dramatic, yeah, but when you lose the thing that you love most in the world, what the hell are you supposed to do? She had hoped that he would come and find her, that he would understand what they had done to her was shattering her into billions of fragments of Karen. She loved him, so much. But this hurt even more. Every glance at this school, the plain white-washed walls, the red and brown bricks, the moulding window frames, just made her want to die.

He shook his head in disbelief at her. Did she really think that she was going to lose her job? How utterly ridiculous; she was a fantastic headteacher, they wouldn't even dream of it, or have the guts to do it, 'That's not going to happen Karen.' He was trying to reassure her, but she could see concern, concern for her and her wellbeing, spreading across his face, and suddenly she was the one who had to be strong for him, 'It's the not knowing that's all,' she began quickly, in a reasonable tone, 'Waiting for them to decide.'

'Well then, you just give them hell.' His smile was irresistible; she needed and felt like begging to kiss him. She needed to trace her fingers across his lips, to look in his eyes and somehow tell him how much she loved him. She began to approach once more, her footsteps irreversible; no, she thought, she can't back out now.

'The one thing that I am sure of, no matter what happens to me, where I end up or what I do, I want to keep hold of you,' she murmured, placing a hand on his chest, needing his touch. She expected him to look pleased, or at least a little bit proud and a tiny bit conceited, but what she did not expect was the look of solidarity and depression and utter sadness upon his face. His eyes emptied of all emotion, except anything negative. His lips turned downwards into a thin line, and his expression hardened, his body quivering, 'Right. Well, you might just have to let me go.'

Every time. Every bloody time. Every bloody time she fell for someone, it always ended up with them leaving her. But this shocked her most of all. She had trusted him, with absolutely everything she had, she trusted him more than she believed possible after what Charlie had done. And now all he had done was make her fall so hard for him for him but to leave her.

'What?' her voice was barely more than a whisper, the word escaping like a little breath from her lips. If she wasn't very careful with what she said right now, she was going to end up sobbing again, 'Why?'

She wanted to kiss him. She wanted to slap him. She wanted to caress him. She wanted to kick him. She wanted to love him. She wanted to hate him. How could he do this to her? Her head was screaming for her to run; he was like fire and she had gotten too close and now she was burning in punishment for it.

'I will help you interview for a new site manager, but, well, just read it,' he mumbled, ungraciously shoving the letter to her chest. He tried to make it look like something bad was too be read, but he knew that this would change everything in the greatest way possible. As she scanned the text, looking for the reason, his excuse for _leaving_ her, she caught sight of the words _PGCE_, _teacher_ and _pass_. Oh, he was a good actor. She was going to get him back for that. A huge grin became apparent on her angelic face and, despite her annoyance for leading her on, she could not be happier and prouder of him, 'Oh my God,' she chuckled, hardly able to contain her joy, 'you passed your PGCE, you're a teacher!' she cried in shock, laughing all the while, 'That's fantastic!' He grinned back fleetingly, but quickly replied concernedly with, 'I might have to invest in a suit.' She winked at him, took a step closer, and fiddled sweetly with the collar of his shirt, 'Steady on,' she murmured in a deep, sexy voice, 'I prefer you in overalls.'

He nodded appreciatively before he shook his head and offered up, 'Do you want to stay, or would you like me to take you home?' She could've yelled her answer, screamed YES for all the world to see and hear, but she didn't want to be selfish – although if it meant she could spend another night with him, then maybe she would like to be just a little but selfish. But she was a good person, and she shook her head and asked, kind of rhetorically, 'Are you sure you don't want to stay and _help_ them celebrate?' He shook his head almost immediately and leaned his face in towards her, planting a small, chaste kiss to her lips. She was slightly taken aback, but still smiled sweetly afterwards, turning her lips into that gorgeous grin of hers. He recognized this and whispered, 'You have got a nice smile,' and kissed her quickly again. When they broke apart this time, she took his hand within her grip and squeezed it gently, 'I would love for you to take me home.'

**X – X – X**

He slipped on his coat and, hands entwined together, Rob and Karen began to quickly walk towards the front door of the pub, trying not to be noticed by any of the staff, who would surely gossip to anyone imaginable about the _idea_ of the headmistress and the caretaker. But as he silently pushed the door open, the cold breeze hitting both of them squarely in the face, like a boxing glove, and motioned for her to slip under his arm, Tom came running up. He slurred out, 'Mate, you going already? Your song's up next.' He beamed widely and glanced towards Karen, who looked bemusedly towards Rob. She raised an eyebrow and Rob looked ever so slightly amused before replying with, 'Oh yes, I almost forgot about that,' he turned to Karen and bowed lowly and offered her his hand, 'Mrs Fisher would you grant me the request of this cheap karaoke song?' She flushed at Tom's suspicious reaction to this, but she then remembered that Janeece had probably taken extreme pleasure in telling all the staff about what she had witnessed earlier. Groaning aloud, trying to convince herself that she _wasn't_ going to enjoy this, she nodded her head and allowed Rob to lead her over to the miniature stage, where everyone had just finished their God-awful version of Hi Ho Silver Lining.

She nervously took the microphone and blew into it, testing the sound, causing a large swooshing sound to echo through the bar. The staff laughed comically and then looked expectantly towards Rob as he took up position only an inch or so away from Karen, and the music began, blasting typically from the numerous amounts of speakers. Karen recognized the song straight away, and before the singing part began, she hissed in Rob's ear, 'I am going to make you pay for this later.' She smiled awkwardly so no one else would notice that she was reprimanding him, but blushed insanely when Rob murmured softly into her ear, 'I daresay you will Karen. Oh, your bit's up next.' Karen quickly glanced at the lyrics and before she knew it, she opened her mouth and kind of half in tune warbled out, '_I wasn't jealous before we met. Now every woman I see is a potential threat_.' The crowd smirked, remembering how Karen had been acting when Naomi had come back. They all cheered and whistled encouragingly, cheering her on, and she shook her head as Rob sang out the rest of the verse. They joined together, and as a duet, they sang loudly, '_But now it isn't true, now everything is new. And all I've learned has overturned, I beg of you_.' The rest of the song passed in a flash, and at the end, Rob took Karen's hand and pulled her into a large bow. They brought their heads back up simultaneously, and before she realized what was happening, he placed a kiss to her lips, ignoring the rest of the staff who had only heard rumours and what they believed to be made-up stories about the pair "snogging in 'er office". A silence fell over the section of the pub they were in and Karen looked around nervously before Janeece suddenly yelled, 'Mister Clarkson, you owe me another tenner! I told you they were kissing earlier!'

**X – X – X**

They left the pub soon after and walked down the hushed streets towards Rob's house, which she was pretty sure she would soon be calling "home". The dark and night had fallen, but their figures were still illuminated by low lighted street lamps as they strolled, arm in arm down the street; locked together, every fibre of their living being connected purely by their love for one another.

'I'm not sure I'm going to be able to keep my hands off you until we reach my house Mrs Fisher,' he muttered suggestively into her ear, slinking his arm all too inappropriately around her waist. She silently tugged herself free of his grip, turned, placed a hand on his cheek and breathed out, 'Try.' She began running, skipping, hopping, a variety of movements really, up the street, owed to the tequila shot she had necked earlier, until she reached the point where he caught up with her. Spotting an alleyway near to their current standing position, Rob roughly grabbed Karen, pulled her into the alleyway and pushed her up against the wall. His lips were on her skin, moving up and down her neck, gliding insanely close to her lips and then back down again. She could not help but love him even more, and she sucumbed totally to him and his charm, and was thoroughly disappointed when he drew away,

'I _would_ try, but you're too damn irresistible,' he murmured in her ear, before he collided his lips against hers, and his hands started roaming unashamedly around her body. She did not protest against him, attacking his mouth back in retaliation, biting down on his bottom lip, losing herself in the charm of this wild man. He slowly began tracing his hand up her leg, starting at above her knee and crawling agonizingly slowly up to her waist, 'Maybe we should get home before we continue this,' he whispered, aware of the fact that any old person could walk in on them at any given moment. She nodded her head frantically and cried out in mirth when he picked her up into his arms and literally ran for a solid eight minutes back to his house, leaving a confused Janeece and Chris standing outside the pub, staring after them…

Rob was out of breath by the time he reached the front door, but they both threw their coats across the hallway, kicked their shoes off amd she launched herself onto him, kissing him feverously, her tongue entwining and crashing with his. He wrapped his arms passionately around her body and together, they stumbled into the living room, an empowering and loving fight taking place, each fighting and pleading for dominance. She clutched the back of his head as he pressed her against the wall, his body burrowing deep into hers, so close that a mental kind of link passed between them. They drew apart quickly, breathign heavily, and he began to undo the buttons on the front of her shirt before a large coughing echoed from behind them,

'Jeez, you two are at it like a pair of rabbits,' Aiden said through a solid smirk, although the same look of disgut he had used this morning was still imprinted upon his expression.

'Bloody hell,' Rob whispered into Karen's ear, and she, glowing red, began to quickly do her buttons up again.

'Well, erm, we were…'

'You can't dig yourself out of this one dad. I'll just leave you two to it, shall I?' He exited the room rather quickly, and Rob turned to apologize to Karen before she yanked him into another ravenous kiss. It said 'I-don't-care' and he loved her evermore because of it. Again, his hands found her shirt and they ran quickly up the stairs to his bedroom, just in case.


End file.
